MSG – Monosodium glutamate
By Sharyn Wynters, Naturopath
I wondered if there could be an actual chemical causing the massive
obesity epidemic, so did a friend of mine, John Erb. He was a research
assistant at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, and spent
years working for the government. He made an amazing discovery while
going through scientific journals for a book he was writing called
“The Slow Poisoning of America”.
In hundreds of studies around the world, scientists were creating
obese mice and rats to use in diet or diabetes test studies. No strain
of rat or mice is naturally obese, so the scientists have to create
them. They make these morbidly obese creatures by injecting them with
MSG when they are first born. The MSG triples the amount of insulin
the pancreas creates; causing rats (and humans?) to become obese. They
even have a title for the fat rodents they create: “MSG-Treated Rats”.
I was shocked too. I went to my kitchen, checking the cupboards and
the fridge. MSG was in everything: The Campbell’s soups, the Hostess
Doritos, the Lays flavored potato chips, Top Ramen, Betty Crocker
Hamburger Helper, Heinz canned gravy, Swanson frozen prepared meals,
Kraft salad dressings, especially the ‘healthy low fat’ ones. The
items that didn’t have MSG marked on the product label had something
called ”Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein”, which is just another name
for Monosodium Glutamate.
It was shocking to see just how many of the foods we feed our children
everyday are filled with this stuff. They hide MSG under many
different names in order to fool those who carefully read the
ingredient list, so they don’t catch on. (Other names for MSG:
‘Accent’ – ‘Aginomoto’ – ‘Natural Meat Tenderizer’, etc) But it didn’t
stop there. When our family went out to eat, we started asking at the
restaurants what menu items had MSG. Many employees, even the
managers, swore they didn’t use MSG. But when we ask for the
ingredient list, which they grudgingly provided, sure enough MSG and
Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein were everywhere:
Burger King, McDonalds, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, and every restaurant like:
TIFF, Chili’s, Applebee’s and Denny’s use MSG in abundance. Kentucky
Fried Chicken seemed to be the WORST offender: MSG was in EVERY
chicken dish, salad dressing and gravy. No wonder I loved to eat that
coating on the skin, their secret spice was MSG. So, why is MSG in so
may of the foods we eat? Is it a preservative or a vitamin?? Not
according to my friend John. In the book he wrote, an expose of the
food additive industry called “The Slow Poisoning of America” he said
that MSG is added to food for the addictive effect it has on the human
body.
Even the propaganda website sponsored by the food manufacturers lobby
group supporting MSG at:
explains that the reason they add it to food is to make people EAT
MORE OF THEIR PRODUCTS.
A study of the elderly showed that people eat more of the foods it is
added to. The Glutamate Association lobby group says eating more
benefits the elderly, but what does it do to the rest of us? ‘Betcha
can’t eat just one’, takes on a whole new meaning where MSG is
concerned! And we wonder why the nation is overweight? The MSG
manufacturers themselves admit that it addicts people to their
products. It makes people choose their product over others, and makes
people eat more of it than they would if MSG wasn’t added. Not only is
MSG scientifically proven to cause obesity, it is an addictive
substance! Since its introduction into the American food supply fifty
years ago, MSG has been added in larger and larger doses to the
pre-packaged meals, soups, snacks and fast foods we are tempted to eat
everyday. The FDA has set no limits on how much of
it can be added to food. They claim it’s safe to eat in any amount.
How can they claim it safe when there are hundreds of scientific
studies with titles like these? :-
‘The monosodium glutamate (MSG) obese rat as a model
for the study of exercise in obesity’. Gobatto CA,
Mello MA, Souza CT, Ribeiro IA. Res Commun Mol Pathol
Pharmacol. 2002.
‘Adrenalectomy abolishes the food-induced hypothalamic serotonin
release in both normal and monosodium glutamate-obese rats’. Guimaraes
RB, Telles MM, Coelho VB, Mori C, Nascimento CM, Ribeiro Brain Res
Bull. 2002 Aug.
‘Obesity induced by neonatal monosodium glutamate
treatment in spontaneously hypertensive rats: an
animal model of multiple risk factors’. Iwase M,
Yamamoto M, Iino K, IchikawaK, Shinohara N, Yoshinari
Fujishima Hypertens Res. 1998 Mar.
‘Hypothalamic lesion induced by injection of
monosodium glutamate in suckling period and subsequent development of
obesity’. Tanaka K, Shimada M, Nakao K, Kusunoki Exp Neurol. 1978 Oct.
Yes, that last study was not a typo, it WAS written in 1978. Both the
“medical research community” and “food manufacturers” have known about
MSG’s side effects for decades! Many more studies mentioned in John
Erb’s book link MSG to Diabetes, Migraines and headaches, Autism, ADHD
and even Alzheimer’s. But what can we do to stop the food manufactures
from dumping fattening and addictive MSG into our food supply and
causing the obesity epidemic we now see? Even as you read this, G. W.
Bush and his corporate supporters are pushing a Bill through Congress
called the “Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act” also
known as the “Cheeseburger Bill”, this sweeping law bans anyone
from suing food manufacturers, sellers and distributors. Even if it
comes out that they purposely added an addictive chemical to their
foods.
The Bill has already been rushed through the House of Representatives,
and is due for the same rubber stamp at Senate level. It is important
that Bush and his corporate supporters get it through before the media
lets everyone know about ‘MSG, the intentional Nicotine for food’.
Several months ago, John Erb took his book and his concerns to one of
the highest government health officials in Canada. While sitting in
the Government office, the official told him “Sure, I know how bad MSG
is, I wouldn’t touch the stuff.” But this top level government
official refused to tell the public what he knew. The big media
doesn’t want to tell the public either, fearing legal issues with
their advertisers. It seems that the fallout on fast food industry may
hurt their profit margin. The food producers and restaurants have been
addicting us to their products for years, and now we are paying the
price for it. Our children should not be cursed with obesity caused by
an addictive food additive. But what can I do about it?… I’m just
one voice. What can I do to stop the poisoning of our children, while
our governments are insuring financial protection for the industry
that is poisoning us.
This e-mail is going out to everyone I know in an attempt to tell you
the truth that the corporate owned politicians and media won’t tell
you. The best way you can help to save yourself and your children from
this drug-induced epidemic, is to forward this email to everyone. With
any luck, it will circle the globe before politicians can pass the
legislation protecting those who are poisoning us. The food industry
learned a lot from the tobacco industry. Imagine if big tobacco had a
bill like this in place before someone blew the whistle on Nicotine?
If you are one of the few who can still believe that MSG is good for
us, and you don’t believe what John Erb has to say, see for yourself.
Go to theNational Library of Medicine, at
http://www.pubmed.com/ Type in the words
“MSG Obese” and read a few of the 115 medical studies that appear.
We the public, do not want to be rats in one giant experiment and we
do not approve of food that makes us into a nation of obese,
lethargic, addicted sheep, feeding the food industry’s bottom line,
while waiting for the heart transplant, diabetic induced amputation,
blindness or other obesity induced, life threatening disorders. With
your help we can put an end to this poison.
Do your part in sending this message out by word of mouth, e-mail or
by distribution of this print-out to all your friends all over the
world and stop this ‘Slow Poisoning of Mankind’ by the packaged food
industry. Blowing the whistle on MSG is our responsibility, get the
word out.
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